


Black Mittens

by LuciferIsSatan



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe, Supernatural
Genre: A multitude of situations, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Multi, Multiple Works, One-Shots, Other, Sensitive situations, Tumblr, crossovers, prompt requests
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-07 21:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1914999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciferIsSatan/pseuds/LuciferIsSatan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The baby sister to Red Scarfs, these are going to be the continuation of One-Shots that are not Crobby, but settle in that zone. Black Mittens will be an abundance of One-Shots of SPN characters intermixing with the reader, an OC, or characters from other shows [Cross-overs.]. Pairings may show up at some point, but for now it's just that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Mittens

**Author's Note:**

> Anon asked: I have a prompt for ya. A supernatural and steam powered giraffe crossover where The Spine randomly runs into Sam Winchester and is amazed that he is an inch taller, so he follows him around everywhere he goes and it gets to a point where the robots are worried cause they don't know where spine is and sam is worried spine will get damaged by a monster and have no explanation for the owner. There should also be a confused Cas about the silver robot. Thanks!!

The San Diego Zoo was far more packed than the Winchesters imagined it'd be, people dressed up in Steam-Punk and Victorian styled clothes. All packed together and squishing by, making walking rather difficult. The crowds were massive, to say the least, and they didn't really know what to make of it. Dean grumbled under his breath about the worst place they'd been lead to on a hunt, but Sam couldn't really find all that much room to argue. The entire area was filled with so much life, and the only thing that really got him wiring was the fact that he was curious as to what exactly was going on. Was there a convention in town they didn't know about?

A girl with a white painted face, hair dyed a rather stunning raspberry blue and wearing a rather puffed out Victorian dress was passing the taller Winchesters side; he reached out, tapping her gear-padded shoulder to grab her attention. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand, but visibly calmed herself when she saw who touched her, looking up at the large man with a small smile.

"Hey, uhm-" Sam cleared his throat, scrunching up his face and glancing around pointedly to the vast group of people. "Why's uh- why's everyone all dressed up?" He asked, his tone uncertain as he dropped his gaze back down to the bluenette. "What's the occasion?"

The blue haired girl grinned up at him, quirking her brow as if she didn't understand the question. As if the answer should have been vividly obvious to the hunters, but it wasn't.

"Yeah, what's with the whole get-up?" Dean tossed in, crossing his arms across his chest, shifting his weight to his left foot.

"Steam Powered Giraffe," She responded simply, stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Looking a bit put off by the sudden exchange of glances between the brothers, realizing for the first time that they weren't exactly in the loop.

"Steam-what?" Dean mouthed, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Steam Powered Giraffe." She said again, pausing a moment. "It's a band," The girl elaborated, "They make Steam-punk, old-western-" She hesitated a moment, looking for her words. "-type music. The band's made up of three Automatons, which are uh, to put it simply, robots." Her eyes flickered between the two hunters, "Three Automatons, and two humans. A few Walter girls take care of the robots if they're glitching a bit badly, but other than that they're entertaining, funny, and pretty talented."

Grinning, she turned her attention to look behind them. Lifting her hand and pointing in some odd direction, "They'll be performing in a couple of hours. The stage is that way." Sam and Dean turned to glance in the direction she gestured to, "You guys should stay for the show, it's free and a lot of fun."

"Alright, thank you." Sam smiled, and Dean waved her off. Taking her leave she sauntered back into the crowd once again, getting lost in the seat of mechanics and gears.

"Preforming robots?" Dean muttered, eyes dancing around a moment before snapping up to his little brother. "Doesn't sound like the _Rawshocks_ Bobby was telling us about, but it sure is something."

"Yeah." Sam replied, eyes glancing over the mass of cos-players before glancing back at his brother, "Do you think that maybe those uh- _Automatons_ -" Sam twisted the word on his lips, testing it out, "Might have something to do with the Rawshock spotting's? Like they're attracted to what's in the robots, or what?"

"I don't know," Dean shifted on his feet, "But we might as well give the show a visit. Besides," The older Winchester grinned, "When's the last time we've seen preforming robots, like c'mon." He chuckled, lifting his hands. "How often do you get to see that?"

Sam chuckled, patting his brother's shoulder. "Well, let's get going."

Dean turned with him, legs pushing them off and towards where the bluenette pointed them. "What the hell's a Walter Girl?"

"Dean."

"No, man. But seriously." Dean scrunched up his face, "Steam-what-the-hell-ever-"

"Steam Punk-"

"-Is awesome or whatever, don't get me wrong, but they pick a hell of a time to be out." Dean pressed his lips together in a tight line, "With all those missing people dropping like flies, what make's them feel like this was a great idea?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged almost nonchalantly, hand dropping from his brother's arm. "Maybe they think that because they're in a big group, that they're safer that way."

Dean nearly scoffed, "Well, that sure as hell hadn't worked in the past."

"Yeah, well-" Sam turned to look around, brushing along one of the larger groups of people, careful not to hit any of their eccentric costumes, "Let's just hope there aren't any more surprises."

"Ex-cuse me, sir!" Came a rather loud and booming voice, sounding rather mimicked and fake. Sam jumped when he felt a strong clamping hand on his shoulder, spinning around almost impossibly fast to find himself inches from a silver metallic face, smiling up at him.

"Hel-lo, sir. I was just w-w-w-w-" The man's face snapped slightly to the side, sounding as if he were stuttering really badly; however the man didn't seem to notice it as he continued on. "w-walking by, when I noticed you were an inch taller than myself!"

Sam furrowed his eyebrows, confusion and disbelief flashing over his features as he looked the cos-player over carefully. Sam felt a slight flash of surprise, seeing as he was actually face-to-face with this person. Usually he was looking down at them, but for once this wasn't the case. He grinning, a bit awkwardly, nodding at the man.

"Uh, yeah." A soft laugh escaped his lips, "I guess I am."

Dean moved out from behind his brother, looking over the man before seeming to decide something. "What's your name?"

The man looked over at Dean as if noticing him for the first time, smiling. There was something rather- _off_ about his smile, like things were moving under what Sam had once assumed was skin, but now he wasn't so sure. The man reached out his hand to Dean, his upper torso leaning forward almost a bit too smoothly from where his upper-body connected to his hips, when Sam heard a soft puff of- well, _something_ escape. It sounded a bit too close to steam from what he could tell.

"My apologies," The way he spoke too was a bit off, the longer words in his sentences sounding separated. "My name is, The Spine."

Something for the younger hunter seemed to click, grinning questionably when he saw Dean take and shake the man's hand.

"Wait a minute, are you one of the uh-" Sam tripped up on the word, trying to think of it but The Spine did so for him.

"Auto-matons." The Spine answered, releasing his brother's hold and reaching for his own hand which Sam accepted gracefully. The Spine's hand was cold and metallic, with a strong iron grip that was unmistakably real. Sam blinked at the grip but shook the hand with ease, The Spine taking his hand back moments later.

"So do you just walk around?" Dean asked after a moment, "Like, who looks after you? Aren't you supposed to be uh- Charging?"

The Spine tilted his head at Dean before shaking it, which looked more like a terrible glitch than anything else. "No, sir! Rabbit, Hatchworth, and my self walk amongst our fellow fans and patrons." He smiled at the two of them, his legs bucking a moment making him bounce a bit before straightening them out. "Walter girl Chelsea is preparing the stage, and St-st-st-Steve Negrete is working on sound." The Spine pressed his metallic lips together, head turning between the two brothers.

The Spine was really fascinating, if Sam could be completely honest, he couldn't believe he was talking to a robot. "Who built you? Where'd you come from?"

Dean elbowed Sam, they both knew they needed to get working on that hunt, but Sam wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this. How could he? This was like a once in a lifetime opportunity!

The Spine straightened his back, eyes flickering as if he was getting in touch with some odd amount of information before his lips finally parted. "Built back in 1896 by Peter A. Walter. He built my compadre's, and his line of family looks on and takes care of Walter Mansion." Steam escaped from his lips, a soft puff of black smoke filtering into the air and disappearing as quickly as it came.

Walter Mansion? "And you preform?" Sam questioned, The Spine nodding mechanically.

"Indeed. We don't believe in war, and find that music is much more filling than violence."

"War?" Dean spoke up, they hadn't mentioned anything about war. "What? Were you guys uh-" He snapped his fingers, looking to Sam as if it'd help him thing straight. "-fighting machines?" His eyes flickered over to the Spines, "or something?"

The Automaton nodded, eyes flickering once again. Accessing information that wasn't direction on his robotic tongue. "Upgraded in 1955, and reprogrammed to closely resemble a humanoid. I was meant to serve under Uncle Sam by performing in special ops missions." The Spine stated, "However the war I was placed in was overpowering and my upgrades weren't put to any good use that I'm proud of."

"And the others?" It was an opened ended question, and The Spine seemed to pause before settling on an answer he was more comfortable with.

"N-none of us fight."

Sam nodded, muttering to his brother. "Pacifist robots."

"Yes sir," He nodded, "And because I've told you a b-bit about myself, would you mind telling me who you are?"

Sam was at a loss of words for an abundance of moments until he realized that he still hadn't introduced himself yet. It was weird, being so formal with something that wasn't even human; but the Spine seemed very real, and very much alive.

"Uh, yeah." He breathed, "My names Sam, Sam Winchester." He pointed to his brother, stepping aside briefly, "And this is my brother Dean."

"Nice to meet you Sam Winchester and brother Dean." The Spine nodded, causing Sam to chuckle. "And would you kindly inform me as to how you are so tall?"

"What?" Sam furrowed his brows.

"You are exactly an inch taller than I. I've never met anyone taller than myself before." Sam's mouth parted, barely holding down his confused smile.

"Uhm, uh- I don't know." He glanced at Dean, "I guess I just.. grew? Genetics?"

Dean glanced down at his watch, hitting his brothers arm lightly. "Hey we should start walking." He muttered, causing Sam's eyes dropped to his own wrist, looking at the time before nodding.

"Yeah uh-" He turned to look back at the Spine, "We need to.." He gestured vaguely behind him.

"Ah!" The Spine lifted his hand in that universal gesture of apology. "I'm keeping you from your activities, I apologize."

"You don't have to do that." Sam brushed, "No, it was good meeting you. Great, actually. I've never spoken to a robot before."

"Ah, well." Spine even had the courtesy to look somewhat bashful, "Say, you wouldn't m-m-mind me tagging along, now would you?"

Sam was at a loss for words, and Dean was tugging on his sleeve to hurry up. "We can have a rousing discussion about what kind of diet you're on to make you so-" He waved a robotic hand idly at the Winchester, as if it would help the human get the basic idea as to what he was referring to. Stepping up to stand beside the younger Winchester. Sam was ready to protest, not really wanting to put the bot into any kind of danger, but the words died on his tongue when Dean began pulling him along, and regardless of everything, The Spine was in step beside him.

"Steve! Steve!" Steve Negrete's head snapped up from it's straining hunched state, hand's stilling on the long mechanical cords from trying to rearrange them. His dark eyes flickering about, looking for the source of the voice until they halted on the running Automaton darting his direction. Steve letting the cords fall to the ground to deal with later, raising an eyebrow as Rabbit quickly jumped up onto the stage, her dress flailing as she made it quickly to the sound engineers side.

"Steve! Have you se-se-seen the Spine?" Hand's raising to her chest, wrists bending in question before she let them fall back to her sides. Steve's brows knitted together, looking behind her, his gaze skittering around a brief moment.

"Uh, no." Steve shook his head, "Haven't seen 'em."

"The show's starting in a few hours!" Rabbit shouted, her hands pressing against her face, taking in a deep breath of air before releasing steam. "W-we can't go on with out him."

"He's probably just running around with a few fans. He know's he's got to be back before the show starts." Steve stated, looking back at the cords. However, that didn't do much to calm the Rabbit's wiring nerves. She twiddled her fingers a moment before her mechanical eyebrows lifted. Steve looked back up when he saw her making to leave, thinking he had the whole thing taken care of, he went back to work.

Rabbit pranced off the stage, rushing towards the back all the while calling out the Spine's name. Turning a sharp corner away from a rather large crowd, Rabbit slammed into Hatchworth, the metal clashing as they crashed together.

"Whoa there, Rabbit!" Hatchworth stepped back, arms held out to steady his friend. "Are you, okay?"

"Hatchworth!" Rabbit reached forward snappingly, grasping the Automaton's face. "Have you seen the Spine?"

"The last, I have seen of- The Spine, was--"

"It's official!" Rabbit cried out, cutting off what Hatchworth was trying to say. "He's been abducted by P-pirates!"

"Pirates!" Hatchworth gasped, fear crossing over his mechanical features. "We've got, to save him!"

"My thoughts exactly compadre." Rabbit's hand's slid off of her companion's face, "We're going to need swords and-" Rabbit paused, arm outstretched as if actually holding the weapon. "and- and _more_ swords!"

"But, I don't-- I don't want, to hurt, anyone." Hatchworth stated almost sadly.

"Oh no worries, Hatchy!" Rabbit exclaimed, patting her friends arm. "They're _plastic_ swords!"

"What if they're-" Hatchworth whispered, tone sounding almost frightened, " _reprogramming_ the Spine?" Hatchworth made it sound as if it was some sort of bowel movement, Rabbit grimacing at the thought,

"Don't worry ol' buddy ol' pal, we'll fix him up." Rabbit tugged on his sleeve, "We have to hurry!"

"We're gonna save the Spine!"

Unbeknownst to the Automatons, The Spine was chatting vividly to a rather tall civilian. Sam was worried that Dean was going to snap at the guy, but Dean didn't really pay the Spine much mind, putting in his two cents every now and again when he say's something rather interesting.

Despite the obvious distractions, the brothers were able to collect enough information that they needed on what they were hunting. Evidently the Zoo was located on old burial ground from some cult called the Order. They tortured and killed anything they found 'unholy' and were just all out an evil group of people. They experimented on those things and created new ones, mutated them and destroyed them until they weren't even themselves anymore- pink makeshift blobs of nothing.

In what Sam could find, they were these creatures called _Rawshocks_. Bobby had given them a run down, and the old hunter had reached out to even Crowley for help. They had no idea what they were up against, and although Crowley was a tad reluctant to reply, he was able to give them a bit on what he knew; however, regardless of the demon kings help, it didn't really give much of what they needed. There is _nothing_ on Rawshocks, literally nothing. There wasn't a damn thing on them other than the color of their skin, which was a greying pink, and that you supposively can't kill them.

That made their job _so_ much easier.

Sam, however, was able to find out that they can't stand fire and stay at least 10 feet away from the light at all times. That gave the hunters a few pointers, but it wasn't that much; They seem to cower from all light in general, so they typically attack at night. That gave him and Dean the advantage of being able to cover their tracks, and gives them some time before the sun sets. They had to do a full scan of the zoo, and there had to be something they were attracted to. However, there was no way of knowing for sure.

"-Perhaps it's your shoes that has you standing so tall." The Spine pursued his metallic lips, his hand's snapping to his hips. "Perhaps we could be the _same_ height."

Sam chuckled, making his way over to the back of the Impala, unlocking the truck. "You're the robot," He replied, "You tell me."

The taller Winchester pulled the trunk open, turning away from the Automaton, cutting him off effectively from going on about how he can't believe that he's just an inch taller. The Spine's eyebrows furrowed together, eyes flashing and seeming to scan over the the weapons that just came into view, taking in the holy water and salt, the guns and knives; back straightening and turning his head curiously at the hunter.

"What's with the armory, compadre?" The Spine nearly exclaimed, "You're not planning on _hurting_ nobody, are you?"

Sam shot him a confused look, eyebrows lifting in realization before hastily shaking his head, waving his hands as if to reassure the robot. "No! No, no. That's not what these are for." The Winchester didn't miss the confusion as it flashed over the automaton's face, frowning. He could hear the words _then what are they for?_ on the robots lips before he said them, but Sam beat him to the punchline. "They're uh, for hunting."

"In San Diego?" The Spine placed his fist on his hip, his other pointing a finger to chin right under his lips in thought. "Well, I don't b-b-believe that there are any animals _here_ that you can kill. At least legally."

Sam shook his head, "No uh- Monsters." He leaned his leg against the back of the car, "Dean and I, we're uh- hunters. We hunt monsters, demons, you name it."

" _Monster_ hunters?" The Spine sounded disbelieving at first, arms crossing over his chest. "Well-" The Automaton inclined his head, seeming to contemplate the statement. "I don't suppose why a tall fellow such as yourself would lie."

Sam paused, pressing his lips together. The Spine was rather strange, honestly. Sam sort of expected for him to have a.. overload or something. He wasn't all that sure, but maybe it was just a robot thing. The Spine had a great deal of interesting stories from the mansion he lived at with the other robots. Sam couldn't be sure, but maybe strange things were just an everyday occurrence.

The Spine took the idea of monsters rather in stride, although he seemed to think, as Sam later realized, that he assumed everyone knew about monsters. The Winchester assumed that maybe it was because the Spine wanted to seem more human than he really was. He was a bit awkward, but he was kind and very serious. Sam was growing sort of fond of the robot, but the more they worked on the hunt and the closer they got to getting to the creatures, the more he worried about what was going to happen to the Spine.

Sam had tried to convince him on multiple occasions that this wasn't going to be safe, but the Spine reassured him that he'd be fine. Sam doubted that, figuring that he only said that so he wouldn't have to leave. Sam couldn't imagine that the Spine would be _that_ fascinated with his height, but he's been proven wrong before. Sam fretted, however, he couldn't help himself. What if when Dean and him weed out the Rawshocks that they attack the Spine? What would happen then?

Sam couldn't help but fear for the worst. That if they get ambushed, they'll go after the robot, and Sam worried himself senseless over the notion; but no matter how much he tired to make the automaton leave, The Spine didn't seem to get the hint, and Sam didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings by telling him to beat it. To be honest, he did like the automatons company; the conversations were weird and strange as hell, not to mention he seemed to be _obsessed_ with Sam's height, but it's not the strangest of situations he's been in. There _was_ Becky.

The one thing that made the Winchester fret the most, was the idea of something as rare and important as the Automaton seemed, was the fact that he could potentially be destroyed. How the hell could he live with himself after that? How would he be able to tell the owner? Would it hurt the Spine? Can he feel? Sam wasn't sure, but it worried him. What if he short circuited in the middle of the hunt? The Spine seemed to only glitch occasionally when he spoke, but so far he didn't see too much problems with him, but what if he was put into danger?

Sam ran his hand wearily over his face, he shouldn't work himself over too much. The Spine would be fine; wasn't he in a war? He'd be able to take care of himself, or high-tail it out of there. Maybe Rawshocks didn't care for metallic beings, and just ones of the flesh. The Spine would be alright.

However, the reassurance didn't make him feel any better. No matter how much he thought it should.

Dean pulled him along, walking in short steps to allow the Automaton to catch up. Caught in conversation after conversation, topic after topic; The Spine tugging on his sleeve's when he spoke, idly chatting and keeping to himself.

It was getting darker out, the sun showing the first signs of setting. They had to gather their things quickly and find a good spot, Sam figured it'd be best if they were where the last victim was taken at. It wasn't that hard to find, seeing as they could still make out the faded imprint of ice having froze over a bit of the area; the San Diego police couldn't explain it, nobody really could. Said it was a freak accident sort of thing, wrote it off as hydrogen gas or something equally ridiculous to close the case for the time.

Rawshocks, although the Winchesters weren't sure why, were associated with ice. Attracted and drawn to it; they froze anything they touched and couldn't survive outside of the cold.

Sam thought it was weird. Why were they in such a warm place when they could be in the Arctic? Origin or not, they need the cold.

They set up their stake-out, placing a few things around them. The area was quarantined from civilians; the police don't know what caused the ice, and for precaution, cut it off from public use. As the sun began to set lower, and the park lights began to turn on, something caught the older Winchesters eye. Dean looked between four different lights surrounding the area they were at, leaning against one of the metal poles that held up the chains to keep people from wandering into the wildlife.

His eyes skimmed over the lights, tugging at Sam's sleeve to bring it to his attention. "They're not turning on." He muttered, checking the one above him before turning his attention a bit further on. "None of them are."

"That explains how the guy got kidnapped." Sam responded, shoving his hands into his pockets, "The thing's don't like lights," He began. "So they're turning them off."

"But why?" Dean furrowed his brows. "What do they need people for? Why are they kidnapping them? Are they eating them?"

"I don't think so." Sam pressed his lips together, "But whatever they're using people for, we've got to stop it."

"You got that right." Dean muttered, reaching one hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out one of the flares. "You got the matches?"

"Yeah." Sam reached into his jacket's breast pocket. He slid them out, tossing them over to his brother who caught them easily enough.

"Great." He shot, "Now let's gank these son's of bitches."

"I don't believe that a single flare will be sufficient enough." Dean visibly jumped when he heard the rough low voice from behind him, flipping his body in a near panic before glaring at the other.

" _Goddamn it, Cas!_ " Dean hissed, the sudden tension in his body relaxing. "You guy's need _bell's._ "

"Dean I don't believe that-" Cas' stopped, his words dying on his lips when he caught sight of the Automaton, shifting behind Sam. Cas' squinted at the creature, visibly shaken and confused by something. As if he was looking for something that he just couldn't see. His lips parted, stepping away from Dean and approaching the robot.

"What are you?" He asked, his tone sounded clipped as if the robot was a threat. The Spine seemed to notice the sudden hostility and simply raised his hands in that universal gesture of peace.

"No, Cas-" Sam waved a hand between the two of them, smiling faintly. "This is the Spine. He's a uh-"

"Automation-" The Spine quietly supplied.

"A robot," Sam finished, "He's friendly. Docile. Wouldn't hurt a fly." The hunter dropped his hands to his sides when he saw the angel's shoulders relax, eyes still squinting at the automaton curiously, but no longer looking at it with hostility.

"What a curious thing you are." Cas said after a long moment, saying it almost thoughtfully. "But what is it doing here?"

"Actually," The Spine spoke up, looking at the angel uncertainly. "I'm a male prototype. P-p-p-preferred pronouns being him, he, and his."

"Why are you stuttering?" Castiel glanced between the brothers before looking back at the automaton. "Are you nervous? I hear it's quite common for humans to find it difficult to speak when they're anxious." Cas' looked up a minute as if reconsidering, "Well- You're not exactly a human either, but you seem to share-"

"Cas'." It was Dean who spoke up this time. "No need to insult the robot, alright? He's got enough to deal with as it is."

Sam shot Dean one of his bitch-faces, rolling his eyes before looking down at Cas. "He's got a slight tremor, or a glitch. Apparently it's common, and not to worry about."

"Certainly." The Spine stated simply, "S-s-sometimes it can become a bit of a hassle, however I've gotten along just fine."

"I apologize," Cas nodded, "But you hadn't answered by question. Why are you here?"

"For Samuel, of course." The Spine gestured mechanically towards the taller Winchester. "He is exactly an _inch_ taller than myself!"

Confusion was written plainly on the angels face before nodding, almost appreciatively. "Are there others like you?"

The Spine nodded, turning a hand into fist and placing it on his hip. "Indeed there is." He lifted one of his hands, counting down the fingers and saying the other two names. Rabbit and Hatchworth before pulling down his third finger and stating his own name; Castiel watched the gestures, watching him with such unadulterated interest. Showing the tell-tale signs of falling into deep conversation when Dean cut in, promptly reminding the angel that they were running out of daylight and he had information that they needed.

Cas' apologized, to both the hunter and to the Automaton before going over his mental list of things they needed to know.

"Fire, I had found, is indeed toxic to them." Cas began, shifting on his feet a moment until he was properly facing the three of them equally. "They manifest Ice, and need so to survive. You melt the ice-"

"-And the Rawshocks go with it." Dean finished, nodding appreciatively at the angel. "Good work, Sherlock." He patted Castiel's shoulder a bit roughly, although overall in a friendly manor. "Now all there's left is ganking them."

"Dean," Castiel started, training his eyes on the hunter's face, "Do remember that they're very fast, and exceedingly difficult to shake off once they're on you. Please be careful."

"Cas', this is _me_ we're talking about." Reaching over and patting his brother's upper arm, "Sammy and I got us covered, it'll be a breeze."

"I certainly hope so."

"Quit worrying Cas', you know it's always been a walk in the park." Castiel shot him a confused look, causing Dean's face to fall. "It's a metaphor. Just-" He sighed, waving the angel off. "Never mind."

And with that, Castiel shot the two brothers and Automaton a look, one of worry, before fluttering off.

The Spine was staring at the spot the angel had disappeared from, his thoughts seeming to scan the possibilities as to how that's possible but couldn't find any. Sam had been sort of waiting for him to ask, but The Spine seemed a bit embarrassed to do so, as if he should already _know_ that's what humans did. And Sam didn't have the heart to confuse the poor guy and further; all of this had to be a bit much for the robot.

Time seemed to tick by slowly after that, and during the whole of the sun setting he tried time and time again to get the Spine back to the stage and away from the boys to keep him safe, but the Spine refused. Saying he just couldn't leave ' _a fellow giant to peril_ ' the sentiment was nice, if not a bit weird; however, it didn't do much to sate the younger Winchester's nerves.

The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, and while Sam was in the middle of trying to convince the robot to get out of there, the Spine's head snapped over to the left, it was automatically and abrupt, steam escaping his lips as his eyes widened, seeming to spot something in the distance. The mechanical expression shook Sam into sudden awareness of his surroundings, glancing behind himself to where Dean was standing, the older Winchester seemed to see exactly what the Spine was looking at.

Quite a few yards away, Sam struggled to make out a twitching mass of pink shapes sauntering their way. Watching as something- _slick_ shoot out from under its feet. Shooting out and freezing everything within a 10 foot radius, grass turning to ice as it made it's way forward. The way it moved was just- _morbid_. Shapes seemed to form and mix, as if it was moving out of the creature's flesh, like holes forming, or flesh floating above other flesh. Morphing over and under and Sam didn't know what to think of it.

The closer it got, the more aware Sam became of the cold. One hand shot out, pressing against the Spines chest and pushing the Automaton behind himself to keep him safe. The Spine didn't argue, his mind seeming to over-wire, trying to classify or identify the creature but nothing came up in his data-banks, fear flashing over the automaton's face; something that seemed almost human, considering he wasn't.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, eyes widening when he saw another Rawshock jump out from behind his brother. However, it was trapped behind ice. It overgrew the wires of the fence and prevented it from going through. Dean jumped away, hearing it's hands slam against the ice and shoot off, the cold beginning to spread. Dean quickly pulled out the flare from his vest, fumbling to light it as he watched the first Rawshock draw nearer. Finally setting it aflame and throwing it at the creature, who, in it's shock, stumbled back and away from the warm light.

Dean jumped at the opportunity, reaching widely for his pack and moving closer to Sam, tossing his little brother one of the gasoline tanks they had taken along. Sam only barely caught it, hand slipping around the sides before gripping the handle, popping the lid and cautiously stepping forward to pour the gasoline out and further towards where the Rawshocks were coming from. He had one hand behind him, holding onto the Spines jacket to keep the Automaton close when he began hearing nearly wild-like screaming coming their way.

Sam jumped, thinking it was another Rawshock and physically paused when he saw two more robots seeming to jump out of nowhere, one of them, the one in the dress Sam assumed, was screaming nonsense as it approached. She wore an eye patch, these metallic bunny ears on her head and totting a plastic sword, waving it around violently.

There was one hovering behind her, holding two plastic swords in his hands, a large wide-brimmed pirate hate on his head; a hole cut out on the top for a pipe to run through it, steam evaporating from the top. They were running quickly, the female shouting unintelligible nonsense until they were only a few yards away, and Sam seemed to realize after a long dragging moment that they were threats. The Spine jumped, waving at them to stop coming closer but they didn't listen, dead set on getting to the robot.

"The Spine!" The female robot shouted, "Get back fiends!" She hissed, snarling in something that seemed as if it was supposed to sound threatening, but didn't in any way come off as such. She was a few feet away, holding out a plastic sword as if to do actual damage, a smaller robot behind her, stage whispering to the Spine to walk away slowly and come closer to them. The scene would have been downright hilarious if there wasn't a small hoard of Rawshocks coming their way.

"Rabbit!" The Spine hissed to the female robot; so _these_ were the bots he was talking about. "Hatchworth- Be quiet!" He waved a metallic hand, trying to quiet them down, trying to calm them down but they were hysteric. "He's friendly! They're friendly, please just-"

"We had, thought that we had, lost you. The Spine." Hatchworth said, his tone something akin to a whimper, watching Sam with a curious gaze before rushing over to the much taller robot, wrapping his arms around his middle. "We we're, very, worried. The Spine. Don't scare us, like that, again!" The Spine patted the top of Hatchworth's head, reassuring him that everything was okay when Rabbit jumped forward, poking Sam's chest with her sword.

"Who do'ya think ye are? Eh? Stealin' our the Spine?" She drawled, glaring at him. "You let him go! Or I'll-!"

"Rabbit!" The Spine shouted, trying to cut her off and explain and Sam tried to ignored them, pouring more of the gasoline on the ground; trying to step away far enough and quickly enough to get the liquid around more. Once again, Rabbit stepped back up to him, on the verge of giving the hunter a piece of her mind when she finally seemed to see the Rawshocks for the first time, only a couple yards away.

"Huh?" Her eyebrow lifted, back straightening with her lips pursued together. Frowning deeply, "Hey! Wh-wh-what are you?"

"Stand back-" Sam tried to push the robot behind him, he had been worried enough with just the Spine, but now his reckless friend had him fretting all over the place. "They're dangerous-"

"D-d-d-don't you tell me what's dangerous, ya hot potato!" Rabbit snapped, her twitch far more evident than the Spines. Far more broken as her head snapped so violently to the sides, shoulder's tense. "Stealing the Spine like that! You should be ashamed!"

"Alright! I'm sorry, now can you please-"

"I'll show ya' to kidnap the Spine!" She jumped back, flinging the sword violently in her hands, "On guard!"

"Rabbit!" The Spine yelled out, effectively getting her attention.

"Not now, the Spine. I'm about to fight for your honour-"

"They didn't steal me-" The Spine began, ears perking when he heard Dean yell orders at Sam to 'light 'em up', but Sam was still held up trying to pour the rest of the tank, getting the liquid as far as he could, and eventually throwing it. "-I followed _them_ Rabbit. Now g-get back here before _you_ get-"

Rabbit stared at him in surprise, mouth hanging open and eyes wide, "The _Spine!_ " She gasped, " _How could you!_ "

"Were we not- sufficient enough, for you, the Spine?" Hatchworth asked quietly, face pressed against the taller Automatons belly, legs bent slightly.

"Well, see here Hatchy, I-"

"Guy's this is _not_ the time!" Dean shouted, stepping forward and pulling Sam forward. "Get the matches-" The Rawshocks, a huge group of them, were shifting around where the flare was, staying just beyond the light and waiting for it to die before finally approaching. Growing quickly in numbers. There had to be at least 30 of them at this point from what Sam could see.

Whatever argument was on Rabbit's mouth, died when she finally took notice of what was going on. Shouting at one in particular that screamed, taking personal offense to it.

"Hey!" She shouted, "Keep it to yourself bozo!" She turned her hands into fists, planting them on her hips. Knee's bending a bit, bouncing in step. "You and your pals are all _ugly!_ " One of them jerked forward, causing Rabbit to yelp, jumping.

"Never mind! I take it back!" She rushed backwards to her friends, hiding behind the Spine and Hatchworth. "You're all very handsome blobs of nothingness, what was I thinking? I love what you d-do with your pink-" Rabbit gulped loudly, hands gripping the Spine, going further behind the Automatons, "-flaking, zombie skin. Do you moisturize?"

Sam would have found the entire ordeal hilarious if he wasn't running out of time so vitally. Dean tossed him the matches, finishing off his own gasoline container, tossing it as far as he could and it ended up landing in the middle of the group of Rawshocks, freezing over. Dean shuddered, setting his jaw and preparing himself for when the flare finally fails. Sam stepped back, putting his hand against Hatchworth's back, The Spine wrapping his arms protectively around the little guy and pulling the other Automaton with him. Sam keeping them close behind him to prevent any damage from occurring.

The small light flickered a few times before diminishing, the Rawshocks twisted and twitched until the first one began sauntering over; two of them rushing forward, screaming these morbid blood curdling screams as they advanced on the Winchesters. They began freezing over the gasoline as they approached, much to Dean's dismay. It was now or never.

"Now!" He shouted, and quickly with practiced ease, Sam lit the whole set of matches before quickly flinging them forward, landing in the gasoline and quickly stepping back. It caught quickly, melting the ice surprisingly fast. The Rawshocks that stumbled into the puddles were quickly set aflame, their bodies twitching horribly and screaming, their skin wilting like paper in a flame and turning to ash rather than burning like a body. Disappearing entirely as if it didn't exist in the first place.

There were three Rawshocks that were behind, having taken noticed of the enlarging flame, quickly turned and vanished. The Winchesters didn't notice, quickly working their way to diminishing the remaining Rawshocks before putting out the fires, so they didn't catch any of the wildlife surrounding them on fire. There was no way to removed the ice, though they'd try.

The hunt didn't last as long as they suspected it would, but at any rate that was always good. They would be returning the following night to make sure that they'd caught them all, which they felt they hadn't. The zoo was large, and there was plenty of places for a Rawshock to hide here.

"Yeah!" The Winchesters jumped at the sudden shout, turning to see Rabbit shaking her fists, her jaw set off to the side. Peering hesitantly over the Spine's shoulders. "And your momma's ugly too!"

Sam ran his gasoline stained fingers through his hair, pushing it back. He couldn't say this was his hardest hunt, but it sure as hell was one of his strangest. The Spine spent time after that to explain to his fellow Automatons what he was doing and where he was, and although Rabbit seemed angry at first, she eventually broke and pulled the reluctant robot into an embrace. Dean chuckled, watching their interactions with a vague interest.

After a while, Rabbit sauntered up and held out her hand for Sam to take, which he accepted a tad reluctantly. "I apologize, big boy." She said, shaking his hand, "I thought you were some sorta pirate tryna hurt our Spine." She smiled, "It's a good thing you weren't cause' I wouldda' dueled the _enchiladas_ right out of ya."

Sam laughed, eyes eyebrows knitting together and merely said 'alright' because he honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

"A-a-and," Rabbit took back her hand, "I would personally like to invite you and your pal over there to the show," The Automaton grinned, neck glitching a moment, the gears grinding and steam escaped her lips. However, she looked back up at him as if she hadn't noticed. "Whaddya say?"

"I'd say hell yeah," Dean muttered, stepping out from behind his younger brother, his sack slung over his shoulder. Sam shot him an uncertain look but Dean brushed it off. "C'mon Sammy, preforming robots!" The child-like wonder edged it's way into the hunter's tone, "Why would you miss that?"

"Yeah, old buddy ol' pal. We shared a fox hole, you and I." Rabbit exclaimed, "One show won't kill ya', C'mon it'll be _great._ "

Sam was hesitant, however he eventually caved. Because honestly, who was he to pass up something this unique? How often to people get to say they watched preforming _robots_ in their life? Not many, that was for sure.

The Spine pat Hatchworth's head, squeezing his arm and soon releasing him to join the taller hunter. "Come along now tall one."

And with that, the hunters and Automatons collected themselves and made their way back to the stage to a fretting Steve Negrete. The Walter Girls were on the Robots in a moment, powering them down and checking for damages, Sam coming up with a bullshit explanation as to where they were, telling the truth but not giving all the details. They accepted it easily enough, seeing as perhaps it wasn't the first time their bots set off on some adventure. They were quickly scanned and checked before the Walter girls set them out to get to the stage, Steve leading the brothers toward the front to watch the show, thanking them for keeping an eye on them.

Sam's been to a great deal of hunts before, some strange, and some difficult, but this own definitely won out with popular vote.

The Winchester ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back. Feeling the tension dissipating from his shoulders from the hunt, and finally stopped fretting long enough to enjoy the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to characterize Robots, but I hope you enjoyed. ^^


End file.
